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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23204437">Bets Are Off</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/shortandsweet/pseuds/shortandsweet'>shortandsweet</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hunter X Hunter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, First Kiss, Flirting, Getting Together, Killugon - Freeform, Love Confessions, M/M, They're both bad with feelings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:26:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,382</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23204437</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/shortandsweet/pseuds/shortandsweet</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Gon wants to go to prom with Killua. Killua doesn't want to go to prom. Solution? How about a bet?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>128</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Bets Are Off</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Killua was tired of all the stupid dance posters everywhere. ‘2020 Prom’ was seen everywhere, all over the school. All of the school dances were stupid, in Killua’s opinion. An excuse for kids to grind on each other and make out in the dark corners of the school. Not exactly activities that scream ‘’FUN!’’, at least, not to Killua. Normally he wouldn’t even sweat the dance. Whatever floats peoples boats, even if it was stupid. Not this year, though. This year he was being forced to go. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, Killua! It’s prom and your senior year! You’ve never been to a dance, you should come. This is your last chance.” Gon had pleaded with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No way. There’s nothing you can say to convince me that this dance won’t be stupid. Besides, I don’t even have a date! Who shows up to prom alone? Not me. You can’t say anything to convince me.” Killua smirked and closed his eyes so that Gon couldn’t use his puppy dog eyes on him. Killua could win most arguments unless Gon cheated and used his </span>
  <em>
    <span>adorable </span>
  </em>
  <span>pleading face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I guess I’ll just have to go alone. Drink the punch which is probably spiked. Have random girls who I’ve never talked to trying to grind on me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Killua could hear the amusement in that little shits voice. Fuck. Now Killua had to go. The idea of Gon grinding with a girl made Killua want to heave. The possible outcomes flashed through his mind as he opened his eyes to glare at Gon. Gon’s smirk seemed to grow wider. He clearly knew that he had won. That didn’t mean that Killua wasn’t still going to at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>pretend </span>
  </em>
  <span>to argue. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’d be your fault then, wouldn’t it. Besides, Gon, in case your hearing is failing you, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t have a date.</span>
  </em>
  <span> And if there’s no date with me, random girls will start grinding on </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>. So fine, go, get yourself killed, whatever. Just don’t ask me to come again.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>That was actually a pretty good argument. Maybe he’ll decide not to go after all. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Killua thought hopefully (feeling more than a little bit smug).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awwww, but Killua! It won’t be fun without you.” Gon pouted, sticking out his lower lip. Killua was about to reach out and flick him when he suddenly perked up. “Hey, Killua. What about a deal.” At that, Killua raised an eyebrow and waved his hand in a ‘go on’ gesture.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok, so what if for the dance, we go together!” At the sight of Killua’s face paling, Gon had to force back a laugh. “I mean, if no one else asks me. I can try my hardest to find a date for prom and if no one wants to go with me… you can come with me!” Gon said as if it would just be simple for Killua. Killua’s mind was screaming. It was a mixture of hatred of the idea of Gon going with someone else and elation at the fact that Gon was (kind of) asking him to prom. Like a date. A platonic date, most likely, but a date! It’s not like Killua had been crushing on (in love with) Gon since he met him in seventh grade. He tried to conceal his inner turmoil. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… guess. If you can’t find a date.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Which won’t be too hard with how popular we are. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He thought sullenly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks! You won’t regret this Killua!” Gon leapt forward and pulled Killua into a tight bear hug. Killua allowed himself to melt into it a little before he was squirming out of his grip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Urk- Yeah, yeah. Get off me, dumbass. You’re so embarrassing.” Killua’s face was bright red and slightly reminiscent of a fire truck at the moment. “Besides, you’ll probably find a date anyway.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Unfortunately. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had been three days already, and Gon still hadn’t found a date. Killua was beginning to freak out a bit. Would it be worse to go with him or to know that he was probably grinding on some random girl while Killua was stuck at home eating ice cream and probably crying? Probably the latter, but that didn’t mean that the idea of going to the dance with Gon as</span>
  <em>
    <span> just friends </span>
  </em>
  <span>was </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Killua!” The voice of Zushi snapped him out of his worrying. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh good, I need a distraction from this. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“I was thinking about asking Gon to hoco. Like a date.” No. No nononono. That’s not what I needed to hear right now. Killua’s head was spinning, going down all the possible nightmare tunnels it could. Zushi dancing with Gon. Zushi </span>
  <em>
    <span>making out with Gon. Zushi and Gon becoming </span>
  </em>
  <span>boyfriends. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-Illua? Hello, earth to Killua?” Zushi was waving a hand in front of his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh. Huh?” Killua replied dumbly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was asking what you thought I should do? Should I ask him?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>No you should not ask him. Stay away from him entirely in fact. Maybe don’t talk to him for the next year.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that sounds like a great idea, Zushi.” It most certainly is not a good idea. Gon said he would say yes to the first person who asked him, which means he’ll say yes to Zushi and then Killua will not only miss out on prom (which he was slowly getting excited for) but he would also know that Gon was there having a great time with his </span>
  <em>
    <span>date.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great, thanks! I’ll do it today probably, after school.” Zushi nodded determinedly and lengthened his strides to speed up ahead of Killua while the older boy could only stare helplessly after him. This is a disaster.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When school ended, Killua wanted to go home and scream into his pillow, but he ended up going to meet up with Gon at the skatepark. Zushi must have asked him by now. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Should I ask him about it?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Killua wondered. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah, I will, but I’ll keep it casual. Act like I don’t know anything about it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, anyone ask you to the dance today?” He blurted out. Okay, that was the epitome of uncasual. Gon froze for a second before he kept walking beside Killua. Here it comes. Killua internally sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope, not yet! Looks like you’ll have to go to prom with me after all!” Gon beamed. Killua’s confusion was overshadowed by the warmth that Gon’s smile brought him. Looks like Zushi chickened out on asking Gon. Hopefully he won’t get the courage to actually do it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, I can’t believe you’re making me do this.” Killua playfully rolled his eyes and elbowed Gon, who just started laughing in the way that only Gon could ever laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Killua did not expect the next day to begin with a very angry Zushi yelling at him, but then again, that’s not exactly how he expects any day to go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Killua!” Zushi yells at him from across the hall before lunging forward and grabbing his arm in a vice-like grip and dragging him down the hallway. When they were in a spot with less prying eyes, Zushi threw Killua’s arm down and turned to him, eyes narrowing. “Why did you let me ask Gon out? Did you think it would be funny to watch me make a fool of myself? Were you laughing behind my back the whole time?” Zushi was yelling furiously, but his bottom lip was trembling like he was seconds away from bursting out in tears. What the hell? What on Earth is Zushi talking about? He’s normally so calm and collected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” Killua spat back with equal venom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know exactly what I’m talking about! You should have told me that you and Gon were going together!” Zushi pushed his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? We-we’re not going together Zushi, what do you mean?” Killua responded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes you are! When I asked Gon he said that he couldn’t because he was already going with </span>
  <em>
    <span>you!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Zushi now looked equal parts furious, sad, and confused, and it would have made Killua laugh if he wasn’t getting yelled at. What the hell was going on? Gon said Zushi hadn’t asked him. Not only that, but Gon also said he would try really hard to get a date to the dance! He couldn’t- Killua took a step back. And then another. And then he was sprinting down the hall, skidding around corners and very nearly knocking a freshman over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After getting yelled at a total of four times and running into a wall twice (the second time hardly counted, Killua thought), he finally found him. Gon was standing there with Ikalgo and Palm, laughing with his head thrown back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Killua stomped over to him, suddenly pissed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gon!” Gon’s face sobered up and his head snapped to face Killua’s direction. “What the actual fuck.” He seethed as he came to a stop right in front of Gon. He may have only been an inch taller than Gon, but right now he was towering over him. Gon chuckled weakly and glanced to the side at Ikalgo and Palm, whose mouths were hanging open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Er. What did I do?” Gon squeaked in a meek voice that didn’t fit his personality at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you said you were going to try hard to find a date to the dance,” Gon’s eyes widened in recognition and he opened his mouth, but Killua cut him off before he could speak. “so imagine my surprise this morning when Zushi came up to me and started yelling at me for telling him to go for it!” Killua was the kind of person whose anger wasn’t screaming, or yelling, or crying. Instead, his anger was cold, and piercing. The kind that could make anyone guilty or afraid, depending on what he wanted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a total of nine seconds of silence, Killua spoke again. “Do you want to explain that or not? Trust me, it will be much, </span>
  <em>
    <span>much </span>
  </em>
  <span>better if you just tell me what’s going on.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Killua didn’t even notice that Ikalgo and Palm had started backing away, mingling in with the gathering crowd. Gon finally, </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally, </span>
  </em>
  <span>looked up at him, face scrunched up and painted with an emotion that Killua couldn’t decipher. Instead of an explanation, however, he just grabbed onto Killua’s wrist and started walking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wh-Hey! Where are we going?!” Killua growled, trying to dig his feet into the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Somewhere more private. Please, Killua?” Oh, that wasn’t fair. He wasn’t supposed to say Killua’s name like that. So soft, and pleading. Almost like it was special, like </span>
  <em>
    <span>Killua </span>
  </em>
  <span>was special. Killua huffed and relaxed himself, no longer trying to pull his hand away from Gon. Another twenty seconds of speed-walking and then Gon was pulling him into an abandoned classroom and flipping on the lights.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you hated the idea of going to the dance with me that much.” Gon’s voice sounded defeated, despite the teasing tone he tried to add to it. It hurt Killua, down to his very soul. There were a lot of things he could say to Gon. That didn’t mean he would choose to say what he so desperately needed to say, had needed to say since they were twelve. He just sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not-” He licked his lips, trying to think of what to say next. “That’s not it, Gon. It’s not about the dance. I just… don’t like that you lied to me. Several times. It’s not even that big of a deal for me, I guess. For Zushi it is. He seemed really embarrassed. You should be apologizing to </span>
  <em>
    <span>him.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” A beat of silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. You’re right. That was… wrong of me. You don’t even want to go to prom, so I shouldn’t be forcing you. And also, yeah, I feel bad for Zushi too. I can go tell him that we’re not going together, and that I’ll go with him.” Gon reached for the doorknob.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait!” </span>
  <em>
    <span>What are you doing idiot? This is exactly what you wanted! </span>
  </em>
  <span>“I don’t not want to go to prom with you.” He paused. Smooth, Zoldyck. “Uh, well, yeah, what I mean is, like, I guess I would, um, be fine? To the dance I mean. Going… with you. Like as a date?” His voice got quieter and quieter until finally his brain caught up with his mouth and he shut himself up. Hopefully Gon hadn’t heard any of that. The way Gon was looking at him, eyes soft and glimmering and mouth hanging open, Killua could safely rule out that possibility.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want to go with me as a date?!” Gon exclaimed. Was that not what Gon had meant before? Well shit, this had gotten really awkward really fast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or not!” Killua squeaked, practically throwing his face down into his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No I want to! If you want to?” Gon sounded hopeful. Did Killua just hear that right? Gon wanted to go as dates? He slowly dragged one hand down his face, exposing his eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was amazing how much two simple words could make someone light up. Seeing Gon’s face brighten, and seeing his grin, wider than ever, managed to make Killua light up too. There could be no doubt, right? Gon liked him? Killua wanted to clarify, but instead of going for the more logical option of </span>
  <em>
    <span>asking, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he practically lunged forward, cupping Gon’s jaw and smashing their lips together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was one tense moment where he thought he had made a mistake, but when Gon softened and brought his hands up to grab Killua’s waist, all thought went out the window. The kiss softened, going from tense and awkward to something softer. Killua tilted his head to the side and moved his hands from where they were cupping Gon’s jaw to tangle in his hair. He had half-expected Gon’s hair to be spiky and unpleasant, so the softness of it made him gasp a little. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So do you like me or something, Freecss?” He whispered, giggling as they parted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have since seventh grade, thanks for noticing.” Gon laughed back, and then they were both collapsing on each other, clutching their stomachs, laughing at how </span>
  <em>
    <span>dumb </span>
  </em>
  <span>they had been. They could apologize to Zushi later, right now all either of them was thinking of was their best friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Except then prom gets cancelled because of the coronavirus.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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